Larry Lyday
Member
I am new on this forum so I wanted to give my first ride report on my new FJR. I purchased my 2007 FJR about a month ago and performed the first 600 mile service in preparation for this trip.
To make a comparison, my previous two bikes were a 2002 Kawasaki Mean Streak that I put about 21,000 miles on and a 2004 Suzuki VStrom that I put about 11,000 miles on.
I just completed a 1,200 mile, 4 day trip through the Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri and I am totally in love with this new bike. I have made this same trip every year for the last 6 years so this was a good way to compare the bikes for the type of riding I like to do. I was more comfortable and liked the ride of the FJR better than both of the other bikes. Looks like I will keep this one for a while.
I got an average of 48 mpg over the 1,200 miles with a couple of tanks reaching 50mpg. This bike has a great motor thats smooth and does not make much mechanical noise like the Mean Streak and VStrom do. Of course everyone knows how good the HP and torque are on this bike. The FJR handles the twisty roads in Arkansas great and this is the first bike that I do not plan on changing the seat as the stock seat was comfortable enough for the 4 straight 300 mile days I was on the bike.
The thing that surprised me was the fact that my legs did not tire or cramp at all. I thought that the rearward position of my feet would get tiring but the leg positon was much better overall than the cruiser positon I was used to on the Mean Streak. The postion of the FJR was also better for my back as well. This was good news as a ride like this on the cruiser and VStrom left me sore and squirming all the time.
I changed to the National Cycle VStream Windshield and this shield is perfect for me. I see over it when sitting up and can duck down for perfect quiet in the upward postion. The lower postion gives you clean air with no buffeting if you want to cool off in warmer weather to get more wind.
My only beef is the stock handlebar setup as the forward leaning positon did tire my hands and wrists more than the other bikes. I had added risers to both the other bikes so I may pick up some kind of risers in the future to pull the riding position back just a little to take the weight off my wrists some. I did raise the seat up since I am 6'4'' so this may have added to this issue. I pulled the handlebars back to their most rearward position but would like to raise them if I could. Any suggestions here would be welcome.
Just thought that I would share my experience as this was one of my most enjoyable trips and think I have finally found the bike for me. Thanks for reading.
Larry
To make a comparison, my previous two bikes were a 2002 Kawasaki Mean Streak that I put about 21,000 miles on and a 2004 Suzuki VStrom that I put about 11,000 miles on.
I just completed a 1,200 mile, 4 day trip through the Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri and I am totally in love with this new bike. I have made this same trip every year for the last 6 years so this was a good way to compare the bikes for the type of riding I like to do. I was more comfortable and liked the ride of the FJR better than both of the other bikes. Looks like I will keep this one for a while.
I got an average of 48 mpg over the 1,200 miles with a couple of tanks reaching 50mpg. This bike has a great motor thats smooth and does not make much mechanical noise like the Mean Streak and VStrom do. Of course everyone knows how good the HP and torque are on this bike. The FJR handles the twisty roads in Arkansas great and this is the first bike that I do not plan on changing the seat as the stock seat was comfortable enough for the 4 straight 300 mile days I was on the bike.
The thing that surprised me was the fact that my legs did not tire or cramp at all. I thought that the rearward position of my feet would get tiring but the leg positon was much better overall than the cruiser positon I was used to on the Mean Streak. The postion of the FJR was also better for my back as well. This was good news as a ride like this on the cruiser and VStrom left me sore and squirming all the time.
I changed to the National Cycle VStream Windshield and this shield is perfect for me. I see over it when sitting up and can duck down for perfect quiet in the upward postion. The lower postion gives you clean air with no buffeting if you want to cool off in warmer weather to get more wind.
My only beef is the stock handlebar setup as the forward leaning positon did tire my hands and wrists more than the other bikes. I had added risers to both the other bikes so I may pick up some kind of risers in the future to pull the riding position back just a little to take the weight off my wrists some. I did raise the seat up since I am 6'4'' so this may have added to this issue. I pulled the handlebars back to their most rearward position but would like to raise them if I could. Any suggestions here would be welcome.
Just thought that I would share my experience as this was one of my most enjoyable trips and think I have finally found the bike for me. Thanks for reading.
Larry
